As a kid i loved watching the next generation and deep space 9 with my dad. Ive always liked sci fi, more of a (stargate fan) and wanted to get back into star trek, but Im just so lost on timelines and whats going on. There are like 6 kirks and I have no idea how/where to get started with watching this again.
A quick rundown of what is out there:
TOS - the original series - I don’t think it holds up too well, only watch if you get into Trek.
Suggested episodes - trouble with tribbles and balance of terror
TNG - the next generation - the basis of modern Trek. Probably what most people think of with star Trek
Eps - measure of a man, darmok, inner light and cause and effect
DS9 - deep space nine - my favorite, the story of the dominion war and the fate of cardasaia. It has a slow start but really picks up
Eps - duet and in the pale moonlight
VOY - voyager - I’m not a fan but it’s popular, jerri Ryan and Robert Picardo are the best parts of the show
Eps - year of hell pts 1&2
ENT - enterprise - it’s been a long road getting from there to here, but your time is finally here. It’s campy and bad, but I love it. Go in with low expectations and come out with a love of Shran.
Eps - not going up suggest any, quality tends to trend upwards over the course of the show, but there isn’t any one episode that highlights anything good about the show.
DISCO - discovery - the start of nutrek. It isn’t as bad as some people say, but it isn’t great. There are some good characters, I like Tilly, some neat twists and callbacks (Lorka) but on a whole it’s just meh.
Eps - none for DISCO every episode builds towards a season arc pretty directly, so it’s not good to watch out of order
Picard - it’s bad. Season 3 is better if you are a big fan of TNG, DS9 and VOY, as an entry point it’s awful.
Eps - I didn’t enjoy any enough to recommend
LD - lower decks - funny animated star Trek. I think it’s great, but very referential to old series. Not a good jumping on point.
Eps - wej Duj and much ado about Boimler
SNW - strange new worlds - still running and great. An excellent jumping on point, pretty and well acted
Eps - ad astra per aspera and the Elysian Kingdom
Ok, so as a starter, I’d recommend that someone going by the above do a kind of seven episode primer on Star Trek and what it’s about. Moral/Ethical philosophy.
TOS - Balance of Terror, is preemptive aggression ever justified?
TNG - Measure of a Man, what makes a person a person?
DS9 - In The Pale Moonlight, do the ends justify the means?
VOY - I’d go with Equinox parts I & II over Year of Hell, but also a “do the ends justify the means.”
ENT - Judgement, is justice arbitrary or universal?
Skip DISCO, plenty of issues to be examined but each one takes a whole season.
Skip LD, there’s a few issues but they’re not as well presented.
SNW - Strange New World
+1 for Equinox. The Void from season 7 also covers similar ground, with a dose of ‘maybe Starfleet’s ways of thinking are correct’.
@Emperor_Cartagia @ScrivenerX How is there not a Prime Directive episode on that list?
There are good prime directive episodes, but on a whole they just aren’t good intros to the shows.
For example, Pen Pals from TNG has some great moments. The crew indulging Data, everyone knowing Data has an emotional connection with the little alien girl, except Data. Good discussion about the morality of intervention. And a large chunk is Wes being whiny also pretty goofy make up on alien girls hands. It’s good, but not an intro to Trek good.
Excellent recap!
Trouble with tribbles is a fun watch. Based my username on it!
After being gone from it since Star Trek Enterprise, my wife and I got back in with Star Trek Lower Decks (oddly enough). If you can handle it being animated (and goofy), it is actually a very dearly written love-letter to TNG and some of the most important moments in Star Trek lore. We appreciated that it didn’t try to reinvent characters that already exist, and did a good job of bringing on old actors for cameos. They bring on people from TNG, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager all the time to reprise their roles.
There’s a live-action Star Trek currently running that I can’t attest to, but it has a crossover with Lower Decks that means I’m going to give it a try.
My friend. Watch Strange New Worlds. Best Trek since TNG (imho).
It does lean a little towards the silly more than I’d generally like, but even the silly is good.
And the cross over episode was top notch.
I really need to give that a try, I haven’t got round to it, but I keep seeing recommendations
Ill give Lower decks a shot!
I do have to say one of the things that has turned me off from the ones I’ve tried to start up is the repeated attempts to revive/reinvent the old characters. Not a fan of reboots.
Lower Decks does have some legacy characters as guest stars. Riker, Paris, Troi, Q, Quark, Kira and a few others all make appearances. But those are cameo type appearances and the focus of the show is on new characters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_Lower_Decks_characters#Guest_characters
I’m the same way regarding reboots. that’s the main reason I really dislike discovery’s 1st season and certain plot points. while Strange New Worlds is a reboot of sorts as well it is amazing. it’s just a real shame certain things are going to have to be “undone” to line up with existing canon as SNW has done an exceptional job all around and the changes they’ve made work really well.
Such a surprisingly good show. I expected just a complete clown show but most of of the episodes are well written and the characters actually do grow over time. I love how Boimler has a nerdgasm at the mention of anyone from TNG, DS9, or Voyager. Even the intro theme really fits the vibe of TNG and i watch it every time. Them noping out of the borg fight cracks me up every time. I use arch btw.
Watching this now. I’m enjoying it more than I expected and would also recommend it.
Same here. Was not a fan of the original animated series, but Lower Decks is really fun.
I love the original animated series. It’s really laid back and relaxing and they get to do weirder stories. TOS would never have Kirk learning magic so he can fight in a wizard battle to save Satan.
I haven’t watched the new season of strange new worlds but it’s certainly a star trek show more so than discovery. Strange new worlds listened to the fan complaints and went more towards TOS in feel
Season one of Lower Decks almost put me off the show entirely. It’s trying too hard to be Rick and Morty in Star Trek. There’s a particular joke about what people do in the holodeck that is so trite and obvious I almost stopped watching right there.
It does find its own much more gentle tone after that, though. I actively like it now. I’d start in Season 2, but it’s not a bad way to keep it light and episodic. I still think Season 1 of Strange New Worlds is an easier transition from the old shows, though.
I think you make a good point. Some of the humor is pretty low for a Star Trek medium. It does catch its stride as it goes along.
to get back into Star Trek I would recommend either Strange New Worlds or Lower Decks. Strange New Worlds is Star Trek heart and soul. Lower Decks is a comedy but also does a great job capturing the heart and soul of Star Trek.
Many of us feel the impulse to recommend whichever Trek first pulled us in. Others are completists or like to get everything in release or chronological order.
I see lots of recommendations starting along these lines here. That might not best for you OP. I’ve had the personal experience of watching everything in first run in release order, but I don’t know if I would attempt that if I were wanting to break back in after a long hiatus.
If you liked the original 1960s show (TOS) with Kirk, Spock and McCoy, Strange New Worlds may be your best entry point now. It takes place on the original Enterprise under an earlier captain, 10ish years before the time of the original show. Kirk and Spock are the same people you know but younger, and necessarily played by new actors. (The movies with Chris Pine as Kirk is the a separate universe.)
If you were a Next Generation fan, then you might wish to start with Picard season three or Lower Decks.
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The Original Series and Next Generation movies are in the Prime Universe, the new movies (2009, Into Darkness, Beyond) are in what’s known as the Kelvin Universe.
There are some major events that lead to a branching into two timelines around the time Jim Kirk is born.
Definitely don’t start with Picard. Aside from the IP, it isn’t recognizable as Star Trek.
they did say picard season 3, which aside from missing out on some of the background given by seasons 1 and 2 is by far the superior season
To you.
Strange New Worlds is a great starting point. SNW is set in the 5 year mission before Kirk’s 5 year mission on the enterprise. There are some arcs that you might not get but it’s not necessary to know what the episode is about because it is episodic. I watched the corresponding TOS / Discovery episodes with Captain Pike after I watched the SNW episodes to fill in the parts that I really didn’t get but here is a list of the episodes I watched.
The Menagerie Part 1 and 2 (TOS) -> Through the Valley of Shadows (DIS) -> A quality of Mercy (SNW) -> Balance of Terror (TOS)
Picard season 3 is an absolute must if you watched next gen / DS9. For the whole season to make sense you’ll probably want to watch the last 2 seasons of DS9. If you watch the last 2 episodes of picard season 3, watch TNG’s best of both worlds part 1 & 2, All good things… (the series finale), and Voyager’s Endgame (the series finale) it’ll make more sense.
the last 2 seasons of DS9 is very political and heavy but many people say it’s the best trek - however now SNW is getting close to taking the title.
Start with The Next Generation, just remember the first two seasons are the weakest by far. Really picks up in S3/4.
Then do DS9 and Voyager. Enterprise is worth watching if you get there.
Or start watching Strange New Worlds, it’s freaking awesome and modern but has the same feel as old Trek.
I stand by my claim that TNG is better when Riker has a beard and its best when Geordi has a beard!
I rewatched TNG in its entirety during peak pandemic. Season 1 is pretty painful, but the rest holds up well. I tried to watch DS9 afterwards and bounced off it pretty hard. It’s got such a different vibe from TNG. Voyager is a little closer to TNG, but missing some of the campiness that I enjoy.
I’m really liking Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Picard Season 3 (avoid Picard Seasons 1&2 at all costs, just skip them as they have nothing to do w/ S3).
I tried watching TNG a few times and holy shit it was so bad. There’s no way I can slog through two seasons to get to the decent bits
It’s episodic, just start with a banger.
Either Strange New Worlds (if you want new Trek) or go back and rewatch The Next Generation and Deep Space 9. Three best series IMO. The old ones hold up; SNW is up there with them.
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Go back and finish Deep Space Nine if you didn’t watch it consistently, it’s great and probably the most adult Trek. If you’re looking for less of a commitment, Strange New Worlds is great. The only plot point you need to know going into it is
spoiler
Pike has seen his future and knows he’s destined to become severely paralysed
Discovery is pretty standalone but it’s a very odd show. Everyone is very emotional and every episode is super dramatic. Not to everyone’s taste but good if you want a Trek that reflects more modern TV.
Enterprise gets quite good as well, despite it’s flaws.
Ent season 1: ehh, I guess I’ll keep watching
Ent season 2: well, that was better than s1
Ent season 3: man, that was really good
Ent season 4: oh boy, I can’t wait for season 5
Ent finale: No. Try again.
I would recommend skipping TOS as a show, and reading the James Blish adaptations of it and TAS. They’re great stories, but getting various production design and execution issues out of the way is IMHO a good idea. Maybe watch some of the classic episodes like Shore Leave City on the edge of forever The trouble with tribbles
Then watch the original 6 movies - these are pretty good and varied. (except ST V, which… you can skip, or watch if you’re a completest or take as an alternate story, or whatever.) TMP is a little slow, and unique, but I think if you’re into general sci fi, and are ok with it not exactly feeling like “Star Trek”, it’s quite good and sets up Spock a little.
Then TNG, DS9 are both quite good, though DS9 really ends up being arcs of arcs for the last few seasons, so you can’t dip in and out the same way you can with TNG or TOS.
TNG Movies are with hindsight and time … ~~~ average? OK?
Generations is generally panned, I think it was basically another episode of the series with a bigger budget, and a middling one at that. First Contact is fun, but don’t think too hard. Insurrection is like Generations - I enjoyed it as it was, but it kind of re-made an existing TNG episode, and meh. Nemisis sets up the Picard show, but both are generally so bad that I can’t really recommend it.
Honestly, Voyager is flip a coin. I watched it once - first run on air, never have been interested in going back for a rewatch, and doesn’t really set up anything for future shows / makes some parts of future shows worse because of how much they screw up in the future shows.
Hot Take, Enterprise is worth watching, and I think air order works better here. Again, they can’t help themselves but “ruin” some earlier episodes / stories from TOS / TNG because of fan easter eggs or whatever, so - watching it later as it aired makes it so you get what they’re winking about. It also helps answer some lingering questions from other shows (if you care for that) in the 4th season. I will warn you, it’s probably a straight average 5/10 so there’s some lows, and very few highs - most episodes are … OK. Then again, if you can get through TOS and TNG lows, you’ll be fine here.
I think you can skip the 09 reboot series of movies, unless you really like JJ Abrams, lens flare, or some of the actors (or are a completest). Looking back, they’re entirely forgettable and not that great sci fi action films.
Looking back, I’d take a hard pass on Discovery and S1 and S2 of Picard, unless you like pain and screaming at the TV (assuming you actually liked TNG and 90s trek). S3 of Picard is OK, IF you’re super jonesing for more TNG no matter what. But really, TNG should have ended with All Good Things and left it there - that was a PERFECT ending, and they keep trying, and failing, to improve on it IMHO. So far, you can skip S3 of Picard and not have it affect anything else.
Lower Decks is surprisingly really really really good. Watch it.
Strange New Worlds is actually decent - and feels a lot like TOS in terms of episodic, random ups and downs in both good and embarrassingly bad episodes. It’s another prequel, but again, I think watching in air order makes sense - especially as it’s still airing new episodes, you can’t watch it first really.
I took a pass on Prodigy - opinions are mixed, and future availability and new seasons seem up in the air. It’s also a kids show from what I gather. I tried the first episode and was like - nah, not for me.
“Star Trek” homages - watch Galaxy Quest - that’s amazing. The Orville S1 and S2 are really good TNG. S3 changed and I did not like it as much, and dropped it part way through. They started being “extra serious” and like 1+ hour episodes and it just was a drag to watch for me.
I would recommend skipping TOS as a show, and reading the James Blish adaptations of it and TAS.
This seems like a crazy suggestion to me. Kirk, Spock and McCoy’s onscreen chemistry is half of what makes TOS work.
The other half being… Uhura?
Fair enough. Too many times I’ve tried to watch a TOS episode and just found segments drawn out and boring - at least some of the podcasts reviewing think it was to reach 52 minutes and they just didn’t have the budget for that much content per episode or something. It was just OBVIOUS filler. The Corbomite Maneuver being one where they just keep cutting back to a counter over and over. The trouble with Tribbles had that 10 minute long bar fight - that’s how they fit Trials and Tribulations into it so well.
And a lot of the negative of TOS was the budget / tech of the 1960s for a sci fi show. Or places where the production or execution just failed badly. I never thought The Alternative Factor was a bad story in the novelization, but once I heard Mission Log and others pan it as “not even a TV show” and I tried to watch it - I saw what they were talking about. The thing just didn’t work IMO. Devil in the Dark worked amazing in a novel form, the Horta on TV was… I see where the jokes came from.
Kirk, Spock and McCoy worked really well on the show, that’s true, but I think a lot of the other parts make it a difficult place to start.
Watch season 3 of Picard
Man, no, I’d stay away from Picard to start. It’s such a bummer if you jump into it back to back.
Granted, I like it a lot less than most in general, but “hey, it’s the guys you remember, just old and cranky now” is not the vibe I’d like to come back. I’ll post it separately, but the current show that carries the serialized, free-form tone best is probably Strange New Worlds. There’s plenty of time to get into Picard for continuity and nostalgia’s sake later.
Yes. This. But only if you have nostalgia for TNG (bonus points for DS9/Voyager).
Do NOT watch Picard seasons 1 or 2. Skip them entirely. I bailed out a few episodes into season 1 and recently picked up season 3. Aside from the first 5 mins of S3E1, you need to know absolutely nothing about the previous seasons. It’s like they suddenly realized that a show called Picard should actually be about Picard and just jettisoned all the nonsense they had been doing beforehand.
I would watch them by order of Discovery, Enterprise, Strange New Worlds, The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Lower Decks and Picard.
I thought enterprise was before discovery.
Nope. Discovery was originally set in 2256, eleven years before Enterprise. Discovery has a lot of time jumping, so past the first two seasons it would no longer be considered before.
The movies with Chris Pine.
jk lol
Honestly I’d start back by watching TNG and then DS9 again. I assure you that you’ve forgotten a lot of it and you can experience it all again!
